Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Unfinished business.

Back on the TT Rig.

Back in 2008 I first spoke with one Cameron McKenzie about having a good crack at the U23 TT champs. The first thing he did was grab my TT bike and perform the maneuver now commonly known as 'slamming' that stem and told me get riding. Well, I got riding, and I sure refined all the requisite skills to be a successful solo time trialler:

-Sore neck
-Sore nuts
-Tendency to get into aero tuck, even when riding to uni or the gym
-Increasing tendency to 'half wheel' the shit out of anyone riding next to me
-Marked decrease in social skills.

Alas it was with some misfortune that I missed the U23 nationals that year, and since then, I have not truly rekindle my love for the introverted suffering of a time trial.

Stop Press:

The Fire is Back.

How So? Was it the nationals time trial? Hmmm, nah not so much.

Has it been some of those Beach Rd runs with Mitch, Tannerino, Smax and the TKM boys? Nope, not that.

...Wildwood is a peculiar place perched just over the back behind Tullamarine airport in Melbourne. Dead roads, baron landscape, there's not much going for it to be fair. At said 'odd' location and at a similarly unusual time (early on a sunday morning); two of Melbourne's truly different subcultures are thrust together in a battle for legitimacy and that last god dam parking space.

Yes it's the Time Trialists and the Plane Spotters. And don't you, for one second, doubt the number of these fuselage focused kinfolk; such are their numbers that there is even a battle between Mr Whippy Vans to see who can steal a glorified parking space and whisk off cone after cone of half melted sub par ice cream.

So imagine the scene;
-2x Mr Whippy Vans
-People sitting round with binoculars, looking at large planes flying in
-Large planes flying in (ie: LOUD NOISES)
-Cyclists tip toeiing around carrything their bikes trying to avoid getting glass in the tyres.
-Various conga lines of cyclists all bent over pinning numbers onto each other backs in a 'I'll scratch your back, if you scratch mine' kind of fashion.

Yes, very different.

And hopefully, that obfuscates fact that that guy, beat me by two seconds! Not again! But that wasn't his only victory of late

So fast forward to yesterday evening. I am discussing my deepest thoughts and concerns on the topic of TTing and all things aero with the Guru ; and I spotted a twinkle in his eye. I had a pang of nervousness run over me. I had seen this look before. The look of a man with a dangerous plan. And with the same conviction for a low coefficient of drag and the same lack of empathy for my ensuing agony, he 'Slammed the absolute shit' out of that stem. And now my saddle to bar drop is oh so low.

Time to do some testing, and please, wish me luck!

And to finish, all like minded TTers should check out that guy's very useful TT calender